The Impact Of A Keto Diet On Your Libido

Long Story Short

Hearing or reading a lot of stories from keto true believers about the supposed benefits for their sex life? Turns out, it might all be horse sh*t.

Long Story

The ketogenic diet has been touted to help with all sorts of health issues, ranging from the obvious such as weight loss right through to assisting with type 2 diabetes and even symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome. Which probably explains why it was health-related terms of 2017.

But many of these claims are often far from verifiable, with the diet ranking second last in the U.S. News & World Report’s yearly round-up of diets

One of the most popular keto claims thrown around on diet forums and wellness websites is its supposed benefits for your sex life. But how much truth is there to this?

“Some major concerns with following a ketogenic diet are the potential side effects such as changes in hormonal balance,” nutritionist Lily Soutter told the paper.

“Some research suggests that a very low carbohydrate diet may cause a drop in thyroid function, which not only leads to fatigue and low mood, but may also negatively affect libido.”

That’s in the long term but the effects can also be felt in relatively short order, as you transition away from carbs and your body misses the energy they usually provide (the idea behind keto is to shock your body into burning its own fat for energy rather than relying on carbohydrates. You do this by cutting out carbs and upping your fat intake).

“Carbohydrates are the foods that normally give us energy, so when someone first starts this type of diet they can feel really tired and wiped out,” Dr Marilyn Glenville, a nutritionist and author, told The Independent. “There may also be headaches and a feeling of having the flu. So at this point, sex drive can be quite low because the person doesn’t feel well.”

There are other issues. A ketogenic diet can alter the way in which your body produces hormones linked to your sex drive, including cortisol, leptin and serotonin; and it may have a negative impact on the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis — three glands which keep hormones in balance.

But in short, if your super skinny bro is telling you about all the great sex he’s been having on the keto diet, you might need to question his definition of great sex.

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Drop This Fact

The ketogenic diet was first developed to treat children suffering from epileptic fits.